McDonald’s Has This Appetizing News for Its Faithful

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) wants to make sure all of its Millennial customers are still “Lovin’ It,” and that’s why the fast food giant is now testing out a loyalty program that it believes will better appeal to its Generation Y consumers and their smartphones.

According to Bloomberg, McDonald’s has confirmed that it is launching an electric loyalty program in about 570 United States locations with the help of mobile solutions marketer Front Flip LLC. Similar to programs employed by Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and Panera Bread Co. (NASDAQ:PNRA), the program rewards frequent customers with free food and other offerings, and also promises deals that are expected to drive traffic into McDonald’s stores.

Customers can enter to win prizes by making food purchases and then scanning a QR code, a pixelated square that can be read by a smartphone; it’s technology many Millennials are already familiar with.

So far, the program has been tested in about 420 McDonald’s stores, and Bloomberg reports that the fast food chain is adding 150 locations in the coming weeks. McDonald’s has more than 14,100 stores in the U.S., so the impact still isn’t felt by most, but should the program take off, customers can expect to win prizes ranging from free cheeseburgers to buy one, get one free Big Macs — as long as they make frequent McDonald’s purchases.